Eat Me Drink Me
by MozartsRequiem-Prince
Summary: In which Hibarin will never be alone again. 1827 children story. AU Arcobaleno Parents of Tsunayoushi
1. Heaven's BreathPrelude

_Once upon a time, they loved you once._]

In a story of long, long, ago-there was a lonely little boy. He had thick hair that looked like fresh coal just set in the fireplace; usually his elder brother would do this chore. His eyes were a heather that made you think of a pearl necklace, like the one his mother used to wear in significant occasions. He was tall for his age (he had probably gotten his looks from his father), although no one would ever think twice to reassure themselves 'He is ten.' It was right before 'nine', a number of completion. A good solid number. A good solid number to die.

Ten is where you should wait for a reckoning.

Hibarin on the weekdays liked to slide down on the handles of the stairs. His cape flowing behind him like fire on a motorcycle. For a self-proclaimed vampire, he felt extremely proud of his 'castle'. His parents were owners of this mansion and he successfully drove off all herbivores that even attempted to set foot in his family's abode. He would suck them to death for even thinking that.

He would do this for many years because he is a ghost child, one angry, sad, little spook . He was never much of a crowd follower, and that was the reason he told himself that he could not get into heaven.

No, it wasn't.

* * *

Inside the automobile Tsunayoushi coloured his colouring book, the one that was special to him because it used to belong to his parents, that, and the crayons were a gift from Viper and he knew that particular Auntie did not like wasting money on such things. He looked up and saw the fields of the country side swaying in the breeze and all it made him do was miss the city. Although he knew moving to the countryside was safer, his Aunties and Uncles who took care of him were only doing so for protection. It was war time in the city and at night he would hear bombs dropping, 'Boom! Boom!' like those films that Uncle Reborn used to watch. Reborn did not watch them anymore, he always said "Why watch a movie like that when all I have to do is look outside?"

A child did not understand the purpose of war. But he did know the concept of fear, pain, he understood the wailing of mothers and cries of soldiers. Luce says "That boy was born in the worst of times. He has a soft heart. Like the inside of a peach." She spoke this as Skull came back to the house with blood pouring out of his stomach, but the others just attended his wounds and were just glad he came back. And they joked about that often. That Skull would one day appear with half of his body torn off yelling at the top of his lungs "I'M HOME!" He always came back.

"How are you bǎobèi ?"

Tsunayoushi looks up at Fong, his Uncle with long dark hair in a braid, his features delicate but strong. He looks at the child through the front mirror.

"Are you thirsty? Would you like to use the restroom?"

The child shook his head. The man smiled, his eyes shining in ardor.

"You'll be turning nine soon! Aiya! Such a lucky number, what type of cake do you want for your birthday?"

"An almond cake please...or a vanilla...or..."

"How about we just get both?" The Chinese man steered into their new house. For how long this time, even he did not know. But he did know it would be the longest they would ever stay at a home. "It is not enough for all of us and you know how much our family loves to eat."

They both walked out of the car and stood in front of the mansion, _'It was tall as a hundred Reborns!'_ the little boy thought. He thought this because out of all his Uncles, Reborn was the tallest. The Italian would sometimes hold him and throw him up in the air and he would sometimes feel like he'd go up to the clouds or maybe heaven, somewhere far away from the bombs and the war and school tests and the blood.

The new place where they would stay at reminded him of an enchanted forest ( their backyard were the woods! ), and this mansion looked like a castle designed as a cottage house (if that made any sense) . Something out of a fairytale picture book, whimsical and with a beautiful garden in front. The windows were clear and the curtains were a rich floral print. Messy but elegant.

Fong clucked his tongue in approval. But right after this, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, he felt like he had seen this house a long time ago. He shrugged this off, he must be tired of the drive." Wonderful. Luce sure did outdo herself this time." He turns to the car and takes out their luggage from the trunk ( all the heavy things like furniture and stoves were moved ahead of time .) "Xiǎo-Shi." It was a nickname his Uncle Fong gave him, taking his first name and cutting it more than half leaving him with only a 'Shi' sound, nicknaming him 'little Tsunayoushi'. "Let's go inside and unpack. In the meantime I'll make tea and some dumplings."

* * *

"Xiǎo-Shi, you're room is on the second floor, the room nearest the restroom."

Tsunayoushi dawdled to his new room, pulling up his overalls as he began to walk up the stairs. But he stopped. And stared. He rubbed his eyes again and thought, he thought, he thought, he thought, that he saw someone walking up the stairs. He gulped, and wanted to go back to Fong, Fong and his warmness, his protection.

But he gulped down his fear, and thought of his Uncle Reborn and Uncle Colonnello's teachings. Uncle Colonnello was an American, loud and big, but not as tall as Uncle Reborn who was an Italian. He had yellow hair, the thought of yellow hair was preposterous, the color of food! Bananas, yellow curry and eggs! But the most favorite part of his Uncle were his blue eyes, little Tsunayoushi wished he had eyes like that, they looked like the ocean Aunt Luce took him to once. Uncle Colonnello always gave him a bear hug and little toys and trinkets after he arrived from the battlefield.

"Lil-Tuna, " He said in his joking and charming manner all the while ruffling Tsunayoushi's hair. " When the day something crazy happens, and _shit_, you'll _know_ when it happens, promise me these few things." His Uncle used lots of swear words that his Aunt Lal scolded him for. "That you'll be brave for everyone ." He pointed to a box inside a vase. It was right near the staircase of their old house. "That you'll run to this place and get the gun and shoot. And don't stop until everyone drops."

"Won't they get hurt?" Tsunayoushi had always seen guns, they were a big part of his life and never remembers _not_ seeing them. The only person who did not use a gun was Uncle Fong, but that was because his bare hands were enough to kill a man. He had seen it happen, Fong did it with the same eyes he used to kill a chicken for their supper.

He thought this was a bit strange and asked him why didn't he have a gun, but Uncle Fong would always tell him " Guns are bad because they kill." Does that mean his Uncles and Aunts were bad then? They told him they worked for the government and that was their job. It was all confusing so he hardly asked questions.

Colonnello did not want to tell the child '_That's the point._' so he said something of a white lie, but it's funny, all lies are black. "Naw, nothing of that sort. They fall asleep. They'll come back up. You're just punishing them because they're naughty."

Reborn smacked Colonnello on the side of the head, with guess what? A gun. "Are you a moron? Look No-good Tsuna, guns kill. When someone tries to hurt you, you have to kill them." His Uncle's eyes turned into someone's he did not know. "Kill them before they kill you." He whispered. "Kill them and make them beg for mercy."

Colonnello looked at the Italian man sadly, but then nonchalantly began to cough. As to snap him out of it, calling him back. Reborn's eyes came back. Those eyes that were like cats came back.

But it will hurt them." Tsunayoushi continued . "I don't want to hurt others."

Collonello shook his head. "That boy ain't right." But what he really wanted to say was ' That boy is absolutely right. Killing is wrong but the only reason we do so is because of necessity.' All the men in his life tried to keep up a facade of steel, but the truth was that they were struggling between the line of animal and human. His five Uncles did horrible things (his three Aunts were more balanced) , to themselves, to others, but when they came back to the innocent child at home they could pretend for a while, not a long while, but a little while, that things were different.

They ignored what the child said and taught him how to shoot at six years old. Surprisingly, had good aim.

His thoughts came back to present day. And he was at the top of the stairs shivering. He had to be strong , brave, like Yamamoto from his old school who was the tallest kid in his class, and Gokudera the class bully . But that just made him feel more lonely. But, how could he be lonely? He thought. Fong is with me. Fong tells me he loves me enough for two people.

And maybe that was the problem.

* * *

Fong laid out tea and dumplings in his newly decorated kitchen, he was sure that Luce would be pleased at his choice of decorations. She, of course would add something to mix her personality. _Probably something blue_, he thought. He took out his small pocket book and checked a few things off his list. He laid the book down on the white table and pulled out a small communication device made by Verde.

"Reborn , Reborn are you there?" He trusted Verde's devices as much as he trusted his hands. He knew no one would track these signals down, no one would find their location. He expected nothing else from a Government scientist.

"I'm here , Fong." He heard screams, gunshots. All of them were already desensitized to these sorts of things. It was a job to them, no different than a street vendor or a baker.

"Reborn you're still there at the job?" He heard a gunshot, and silence.

"I just finished."

The refrigerator noise was the only thing heard, neither of them spoke.

"When will you be here with the others?"

"As soon as they finish with their current missions." That was it, Reborn always so straight to the point. You could call him many things but a liar wasn't one of them. "The whole city where we used to live was cleared off the map. The enemy went on a mass killing spree, the death toll was the greatest so far in war casualties." He said this as if he were cleaning his nails, giving himself a pedicure. "And, how's Tsunayoushi?" He changed the subject coarsely, no sneaking around.

"He seems a little tired. Also a bit sad about leaving. It's to be expected, after all the move happened so abruptly. It saddens me, I knew he was finally making some playmates." The Chinese man paused and did not add '_that were probably dead now'_. "But it would be no good to tell him what really happened, we had to leave because we knew that place was to be exterminated."

The communication device was filled with white noise until the Italian spoke.

"No use telling him what we're really in the country side to do."

Fong smiled a sad smile.

"When do you think this war will be over?"

"As soon as one of them runs out of money. "

As soon as Reborn said this, Tsunayoushi pierced the air with a chilling scream.

Fong called out the child's name in urgency, his calm nature seemed like it did not belong to him." Tsunayoushi!" Fong quickly stood up on his feet, his chair falling down in the process. The receiver fell on the floor with a loud 'smack'. Fong wasn't even walking, he was gliding up the stairs in quick, fast steps and he kicked down the door of the child's room, the hinges of the door now broken and useless.

"Uncle Fong!" The child was on the bed curled up in a small ball. "There's something hiding under my bed!"

The Chinese man fell to the floor in relief; he released a sigh, a happy one. It was only a childish terror, just an imagination gone wild. " Oh." Is all the man said, as not to lose face. He picked up the door that he broke down and laid it to his side in a calm and elegant manner, as if he did not kick it down.

"I saw a boy! He told me he was going to suck me to death!" Tsunayoushi was trembling. His skin was pale. "It's all because I touched a toy I found in the dresser. It's a ghost! A ghost is mad because I took his toy away!"

Near the dresser was a small Nutcracker, it's face was shaped like a boy with dark hair. It resembled something of a vampire with its black cape and clothing. Fong picked it up.

" My, isn't this cute. Don't you think so?" It was as if his Uncle Fong had turned deaf! Did he not hear? " Tsunayoushi," he only used his first name when he was going to talk to him seriously. Man talk, he would say. "Don't ever scream like that again, I know it is hard to control yourself because you are still a child, but please try for our sake." By 'our' he meant his Uncles and Aunts. "Only use that scream when you are in trouble." They never told him what the 'trouble' would be, but he did not ask, he knew not to ask. It was a taboo subject among them.

Tsunayoushi nodded obediently. Ashamed he was such a bad child, causing his Uncle to worry, made him break down the door. It was his fault.

His Aunties and Uncles did not spoil him, not in the least. They punished him, a bit more sternly than others but it was war-time. They did so because they didn't wish for him to get hurt. And usually the ones that came out hurting more was not Tsunayoushi but his family. They knew they were too hard on him.

Tsunayoushi remembers a time he was forced to kneel on the floor for an hour with buckets on his head for breaking an important package. All the time Fong stared with tears on his eyes.

"Sorry, Uncle Fong."

But when he reached out to hug his Uncle he saw the little ghost stare at him at the top of the stares.

Tsunayoushi does not scream.

* * *

At lunch time Tsunayoushi takes his snacks into his room and makes a small little picnic spread. He places a plate for himself and adds napkins and small little toy animals for company. He contemplates for some time within him and finally takes out a second plate adding two dumplings on it. ( As not to seem greedy.)

"This is for you," He says to no one in particular. "Can we play?" Tsunayoushi asks in a quiet yet hopeful voice.

The room gets cold, like a sudden chill escaped from a window, as if it were winter. The little Nutcracker doll that Fong had placed once again on the dresser began to quiver and smoke came out of it's mouth. As the smoke dilapidated into the air it left behind a boy around his age, older, that was for certain. He looked liked the Nutcracker doll, down to it's clothes and all the way down to his shoes.

"I want you out of my house," The ghost child spoke. "But I will play with you for a little bit . You offered me food, it would be herbivorous of me not to repay the favor." He said this as he sat down, grabbing a dumpling, biting it with his teeth. They were not sharp. Why Tsunayoushi thought a ghost had sharp teeth was beyond him.

"Are you a ghost?" The brown haired boy asks. His eyes looking at the tea in front of him.

"Yes."

"How can you be a ghost," Tsunayoushi began, his mouth small and quivering. "If when you eat it doesn't go through you? How can you be a ghost if you can touch, see, feel and smell?"

Hibarin's eyes skimmed across from the toy he had begun to play with ( which belonged to Tsunayoushi) and said -

"I am not a proper ghost."

* * *

After several hours of playing the two children came to an agreement. Hibarin would not force the others to move as long as 'rent' was paid. By this he meant more 'food' more 'offerings.

"Give me ghost money." Hibarin demands.

Uncle Fong said that once you died they would have to bury you with paper money, so you could go and buy your way into heaven. But he said that it only worked on people that 'believed' in that sort of thinking. Tsunayoushi thought, but didn't say, that if people bribed their way into heaven then they didn't really deserve to go.

"If that was the case, " Reborn said, laughing through his noise. " I'll need enough money to fill three caskets."

Viper added, "I'd rather not get into heaven if I had to pay."

"Heaven is unscientific." Uncle Verde, his smartest Uncle added his two cents.

So yes, he thought he could get Hibarin these things. How hard could it be? And by keeping the 'house ghost' content he was doing something wonderful. He was protecting his family, no gun included.

"But why," Tsunayoushi asked "Why can't you go into heaven?"

Hibarin stood silent and paused playing with the toy car in his hands.

"My parents used up all the money to go to Heaven. They were selfish herbivores."

Tsunayoushi put his car down as well.

"My parents are in Heaven too." Hibarin looked at the child in front of him. They both sat on the floor, the toys in-between. "But they left me with my Uncles and Aunties. That's what the grown ups told me. You know, Uncle Fong is really my father? He explained that he adopted me with papers. That the government said I am his son."

Hibarin's eyes were looking at the herbivore with interest now. But he did not know why he even began a conversation with the herbivore. Perhaps because he has been lonely for so long, but he puts this thought in the back of his mind. He was Hibarin, he was a self proclaimed Vampire. When he was alive he researched on them thoroughly and watched Dracula eighty six times. Vampires were not lonely and ghosts shouldn't either. They were dead, they shouldn't feel.

"Then why do you call him 'Uncle'?"

The boy with the brown hair replies with a small whisper. "Because he isn't my father."

* * *

Here I am with a new story. Since my DRRR! fic is almost at it's end I want to be busy with two fics so I won't be lonely. I had this in my head for quite some time. It's going to start off a bit slow? But it will catch up sooner. This is set in an alternative universe in an alternative world and reality. As you can see their era and world is very chaotic. This story is about magic, fairy tales, paranormal things but it is mixed in with real things and problems, like family problems and psychological issues , war issues.

I also have a tumblr if you wish to follow! Ask me anything you want too!

Revised May 23, 2012

mozartsrequiem (dot) tumblr ( dot) com

I hope my readers like this. Thank you!


	2. Paper Stars

Hibarin liked to collect things. If one were to describe these tendencies he would be like some sort of dragon. Collecting treasures. Anything that had caught a glimmer to his eye he would collect, either that or he was just greedy. He now had someone to boast of all his findings and decided to show Tsunayoushi his collection in the attic. Hibarin told Tsunayoushi of his treasures on the second week of their arrival, and without a doubt the younger had wanted to go.

"Hibarin you're amazing," The young child said as he reached the attic. It was easy to get there, all he had to do was go inside his closet (It used to be Hibarin's) and look up. There would be a small string attached to the ceiling, and when he pulled it, a small set of stairs came down. "I have never met anyone with a treasure collection before."

The ghost child stuck his chest out in pride. "Of course no one has one, I am a vampire ghost. Only vampire's collect treasures. The best treasures. "Which was not true but he said it _like_ it was true. That meant the same thing to children. Tsunayoushi just nodded and agreed because he knew no better.

In the middle of the attic was a grand porcelain moon with a kind face. It had pearls decorating it's side, it shone when the light from the attic window hit it just right. Red curtains decorated the whole attic, alongside small boxes of trinkets. Such as small clear bottles that were filled with paper stars, block legos and sticky hands. Those were just the beginning of his findings, there was a case with millions of dead butterflies, another box which had an old record player, he found photographs that Hibarin kept because he wanted to record how special certain people were. But those he kept hidden (because your weaknesses should always be hidden, not on your shoulders or on the floor.) Those photographs he ripped away from the other boy.

"That's mine. You can't touch it." He would say.

There was even a small futon on the floor, filled with the best kind of feathers and white silk as the sheets.

"My mother made me this play room." Hibarin explained as Tsunayoushi found a suitcase filled with small Nutcracker soldiers. "She knew I was a vampire, and told me that all vampires had a lair to do their dark deeds. I of course requested to have one. She did not deny me this because I threatened to suck her to death." He said this in a proud manner, content he had such power.

"This Nutcracker doll," Tsunayoushi inquired. "It looks an awful lot like you."

Hibarin looked down at the attic window.

"My mother made that for me."

"You come out of here." The brown haired boy pointed to the mouth of the doll the ghost boy carried. "Why does that happen?"

Hibarin grunted for a while, displeased he did not know an answer to that question. He thought about it and grunted for a while until he finally found something believable to say. "This is my tombstone."

Tsunayoushi felt like he had just asked a rude question, and acted like his Uncle Fong taught him when he felt he had said too much. "Ah," He bows his head down. "Sorry, it was rude of me to ask."

He accidentally dropped a toy soldier down, and when he reached down to pick it up a world globe caught his eye. He was first interested in it, naming towns and cities, but then grew quiet and did not really like seeing the world anymore. Not when he knew it was different, it wasn't painted on a circle. It had people in it, and people did the scariest things.

"There is a war outside." Tsunayoushi says, his back only showing to the ghost boy who had begun to turn the pages of a book. The book was called '_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'._

"The war was barely starting when I died." The dark haired boy said this disinterestedly, choosing another book ,preferably something about magic. "We went to war with the Capulet's ."

Those were the only two nations on earth. Montague and Capulet.

"I think," Tsunayoushi decided to be brave. He could never talk about 'Adult-talk' with his Aunts and Uncles. "That the world would be better if the land could separate into small little pieces. Like Japan could be its own separate place, and so can Italy and all that."

"The adults are stubborn." Hibarin laughed through his nose, it was a mean laugh. "Even if the world were to be separated they would still fight."

"I'm glad that you died Hibarin. It is great that you don't have to live in this war." Tsunayoushi spun the world globe slowly. The two big chunks of land turning into swirls of colour. "Wait-! I mean, no- I'm not saying that I wanted you to die- and -ah uhm,"

"Quiet. I know what you meant."

* * *

Fong's name was made up of 'air', 'wind' and 'manners'. All in all, the young child thought that his Uncle's name suited him well. Fong felt like the wind, it had the power to cool you down, he felt like air, as soon as he was there Tsunayoushi felt like he could breathe again, and 'manners' because of his calm personality. Tsunayoushi learned Fong's name when he was only seven. He learned many kanji up to that point all thanks to his Uncle Fong, or as he still used to call him ' Father' or 'Bàba '.

Fong is legally Tsunayoushi's father.

There was a time where the child thought this man that looked nothing like him was truly his father. It was probably the happiest time for both of them. It was probably the happiest time for both of them because they were living a lie.

Fong had nursed and nurtured Tsunayoushi with the Arcobaleno since the day his parents were killed. That was when he was only two weeks old. They took turns watching him, feeding him, all through the busy schedule of the military. But being a Spy working on espionage had its perks, and that was because you were better off. More so than most, more valuable than soldiers. A spy was a piece of intelligence that was kept alive while the soldiers were just pigs for slaughter. Everyone knew that.

Fong presented Tsunayoushi as his son, and sometimes Luce as his wife. It worked and nobody asked questions. He introduced Reborn as the child's godfather, and Colonnello as an Uncle. He introduced all the Arcobaleno's with a tint of familiarity only a family would have. It worked, for a while.

But as the son grew older, day after day he found his appearance more troubling by the second. Tsunayoushi noticed how different he and his Bàba looked. (And where was his mother?)Both of them had different shaped eyes, his was an almond while the elder man's eyes were slanted like cats. He had rich black hair while he had brown that looked like chocolate. And when Tsunayoushi asked his 'father ' this, Fong could have lied. He could have kept the lie going for all of them.

But after much guidance from Luce and Reborn, he decided it would be much better to speak now than later. It would save him face, man cannot live without a face, trees can't live without bark.

"That's a bad idea." Verde was always the negative voice of the Arcobaleno group. The man who always had something to say. If there was one thing to worry he could give you a million. "Telling him this so early in his developmental stage would be too traumatizing for the child. His Frontal Lobe has not fully developed yet. He's only five now, its way too early for him to process this information."

And as usual, Colonnello would be the ice breaker. He always said something that would get everyone to laugh, to become angry or sad. "The fuck did he say?" He was also an idiot with a middle school education. Verde just looked at the blond man blankly, musing to himself that there were still Neanderthals wandering around, then walked away.

When Fong had begun to explain to Tsunayoushi on how he had adopted him and what that meant, the Chinese man was pleased with how the boy responded to the situation and began to praise him ( internally ,of course). He did not want to spoil Tsunayoushi . What a smart boy he was, how understanding!

"It's ok! I'm not mad!" Tsunayoushi told Fong this with a big smile. He continued to play with his clay that Luce had bought for him. It was blue.

The one that did not understand the consequences was Fong.

"Xiǎo-Shi ." The Chinese man called from the kitchen. This was when the Arcobaleno had an apartment in Italy. They remembered they lived there for four months, that was when the bombing started. The bombings would happen any time of day, when the Capulet's attacked the civilians. Fong had become frightened of sending Tsunayoushi to school, so Verde became his teacher.

"Yes ,Uncle Fong?" Tsunayoushi asked obediently.

And Fong looked at the small child with a shocked but fierce look, as if the boy had begun to curse at him and began to talk in tongue, as if he were just slapped.

"What did you say?" He had a wild look in his eyes as he grasped the child's shoulders fiercely and shook them. "Repeat it!"

Tsunayoushi did not say a thing. He had learned to be quiet when he had to. He had learned to be quiet when he heard Uncle Colonnello scream and thrash at night, sometimes crying. He had learned to be quiet when he saw his Uncle Skull and Uncle Verde inject themselves with something and they became happy for a while. He had even learned to be quiet and act like nothing was happening when Reborn would get this ache, this ache that made him destroy everything in sight. That was the first time he had broken his arm.

So ,yes, he would learn to be quiet if his Uncle Fong, the man who he thought was his father for so long , would want to act like someone else on occasions.

They stared at each other for a while, and slowly, Fong stands up and lets Tsunayoushi go. He has the same smile he always wore, gentle and kind. The only thing that was different from him was that there were tears falling from his dark eyes.

"Food is ready ." Is all he says as he serves the child his own Tofu, rice and squid.

With every bite he took Tsunayoushi knew that he had hurt Uncle Fong's feelings. He did not have much of an appetite after that and excused himself early. Because with every bite of Fong's cooking he could feel why deciding to call him 'Uncle' was a bad idea. His food tasted like his love.

He could never take this back.

* * *

Reborn was the first to come back to the house. The Italian man did not bother to knock, and as soon as he opened the door, laid his suitcase on the ground. The tall man walked up the stairs, his hand on the staircase. He heard voices from the room near the bathroom. Tsunayoushi's room, he gathered.

"Hibarin, let's colour. You can have this page-"

"Ciao." Is all Reborn needs to say before someone begins to climb on top of him. Tsunayoushi has a big smile but then stops, and sees if Uncle Fong is there as not to hurt his feelings.

"I missed you Reborn!"

The Italian male just places his fedora on the child's head, inspecting Tsunayoushi's room.

"You were talking to someone just now."

And the child cannot lie to this man, he cannot because he secretly wished him to be his father, not Fong.

"I was talking to Hibarin. He's my new friend. He's right here." Hibarin is sitting on the bed colouring the page that Tsunayoushi tore out for him. As soon as he looks at the adult male, he places his fake fangs on himself and begins to hiss.

Of course, Reborn cannot see the tiny ghost and only stares at thin air.

"I see." Is all that comes out of his mouth.

That night at dinner Reborn is quite stubborn on sending Tsunayoushi to a public school, much to the reluctance of Fong.

* * *

The second to come to the mansion is Luce.

He loves his Aunt Luce, so, so , much. If his mother were still alive, she would surely be like this, Tsunayoushi thought. She was so kind, caring, and she only scolded him when she needed to. His other Aunts and Uncles tried to be extra careful around her not to anger her, and the child did not know why. When he was only six years old he remembers she was pregnant. But a second passed and she did not have her round belly anymore.

"It got lost in the bombing." She told him with a smile.

He remembers which bombing it was.

Uncle Fong and Aunt Luce were outside in the market place in Italy. There were many stands of fish and meat, fruits so delicious you could smell the skin. Tsunayoushi was only seven back then, and he held Fong and Luce's hand tight, just like they taught him.

"They're my mommy and daddy ." They taught Tsunayoushi to say.

And the passerby would laugh and congratulate the Chinese man in scoring such a good wife, that she was pregnant again! But Fong of course did not tell them the truth, that he was not capable of making children, nor did he mention Luce was pregnant with another man's child. They weren't even lovers, just friends.

"They're my pride and joy." Fong would say, and that wasn't a lie.

So about that time, they were trying to score a good deal in the seafood stand, trying to score salmon at a thirty percent discount at least. And that was when the bombing began. Everyone started run around like chickens, all scampering to get under some piece of wood, some began to fall on their knees and pray. But Fong And Luce just looked at each other and ran. Fong picked up Tsunayoushi and covered him with his arms as strong as he could, making him not see anything of the outside world. But Tsunayoushi could still see, he saw how in the crowd they pushed Aunt Luce away, and he saw the way they pushed and shoved her, and he saw the way she lost her child. The blood pouring from the bottom of her dress.

As they walked home she was crying, no, she was wailing at the top of her lungs. Never stopping, and Fong did not scold her, he did not tell her to calm down. He had a somber expression in his face and could only soothe her back.

"Why are you crying Aunt Luce?" The child in Fong's arms asked her, and she couldn't come up with a believable lie, so she said the first thing that came up to her mind.

"I lost the fish at the market. The fish was spoiled. I can't get it back."

Luce's belly disappeared, and now when people asked Tsunayoushi about his mother's 'baby' he answered, " She lost it at the market place."

And the people would only nod in understanding, "It happens." They told him.

I brought you back clothing," Aunt Luce blabbed as she took out parcel after parcel out of her car. She placed them in Tsunayoushi's arms to take them inside. "Of course, I also brought you some toys; I saw the most darling little trains the other day. Of course I had to get you one, and I bought you some new pillow cases. They are the most precious thing! They have little lions in them, see? Children should have these things! I know this. "She pointed to the pillow cases and Tsunayoushi could only look at them in awe.

"And this, Aunt Luce?" The child had picked up a small letter from the trunk. It was strange though, it had the seal of the Capulet's. As soon as the child saw it, Luce cursed her absent mind and swiped the letter from his hands.

"Oh, this little thing? Just a letter. Adult things." She added the 'adult things' to make sure Tsunayoushi won't concern his mind with it. And he did not ask her about the letter ever again.

* * *

Verde was the third to come back, and he came back with a large moving van. He still has the sour look he address everyone with, but his eyes are much kinder when he talks to the small boy who comes to greet him.

"Are you ready for your lessons?" The man asks in a deep voice, the voice Tsunayoushi came to identify as a brilliant scholar.

"Yes, Teacher."

Verde was the one to explain to the others that Tsunayoushi had a small learning disability. He was dyslexic. But thanks to his home-schooling he had a great jump start. Now the only thing detaining him from reaching his full potential was his anxiety around new people. And that was made worse from the war.

Tsunayoushi knew to fear Uncle Verde, because when you're a child a doctor is someone evil no matter who says he's not. Uncle Verde was the family doctor and took care of everyone when they were sick, he treated Skull's wounds whenever he came home (except he used alcohol that hurt more), he was the one who treated Luce after she lost her baby . But the child also feared him because he knew Verde was doing 'bad things' in his lab. He would sometimes see his Uncle inject himself with this syringe, ' _Giving himself shots!_' the child thought. He went to go tell Uncle Colonnello what he saw (because everyone else was on missions) and the American's eyes went big.

" Tsunayoushi, knock before you enter his lab will ya? And promise me, when you grow up don't do drugs. They're bad." The child did not know what 'drugs' were, much less what made them so bad.

And yet, he promised. Just like they taught him.

* * *

Skull comes back with Colonnello two days before Tsunayoushi's birthday.

" I'M HOOOOOME!" Skull screamed at the top of his lungs. A shoe hit him in the back of the head.

" Shut up." Reborn says from the couch. He was looking at the television news broadcast; he was looking at their lies.

"Yeah," Colonnello added. "Shut it lackey." He was about to give him another hard whack but stopped when he saw his 'Lil -Tuna.'

"Yo!" He called out. But the brown haired boy's attention was on Skull.

"Brother Skull!" Hibarin was sliding at the stares beside Tsunayoushi's side. Curious as to why so many people were coming to his home. He had never had so many guests before.

"Little brother!" Skull laid out his arms in front of him for a hug. "Don't hug me too hard! Everything hurts!' The pierced man complained.

"You didn't complain when you pierced your face." Fong said gently. "Aiya, I wish you would take them off. They're a bad influence to Xiǎo-Shi." He shuddered to think his little boy would get them all over his face when he was not looking.

"Yeah," Added Reborn. Always something to say. "You think you look so cute."

Skull groaned and carried Tsunayoushi with him up the stairs. "Leave me alone!" He complained like a child.

The others smirked or smiled. Luce laughed.

At dinner time everyone dined together. Lal and Viper were missing, they were on a mission, it could not be helped. This time the food was all Italian, Luce cooked it with the help of Fong, he used to work as a cook he had told them . Besides that, he was the only other member of the group that could boil water without burning it.

The whole group ate to feed a starving army, and they did so because they never knew if they would eat like this again.

"Eat more! " Reborn scolded Tsunayoushi. The young boy would always sit next to Reborn, much to the disappointment of Fong. The seat next to him always empty.

"I'm full." Tsunayoushi murmured, but then remembers Hibarin. He serves himself another plate , making sure to fill it with everything he thinks the ghost boy would like. "I'm more hungry!"

"I'm even hungrier." Luce corrected with a smile.

He sits down and pretends to eat his food, waiting for everyone to clear the table so he could give the food to Hibarin.

He listened to his Aunties and Uncles talk about the war, it would scare him but he wanted to stay informed.

"Ahh, so I was right next to their fighter plane right?" Skull began to tell his stories to Tsunayoushi. Adding sound effects and the child would really feel himself to be there in the thrill of battle. His Uncle Skull was the head of the whole Fighter Plane squad. He was the one in charge of fighting in the sky. "And I just blew that sucker right up! Everyone cheered for me, and guess what? We're winning the war! It's going to end soon Tsunayoushi, and when it does, I'll take you flying in my plane and we won't be scared of being shot -"

"Tsunayoushi dear," Luce said in a sweet manner. "Would you eat the rest of your dinner in your room? Pretend you're in a restaurant!"

Tsunayoushi obediently took his plate and ran up the stairs, all the while continuing to hear his Uncle Skull's story about how he single-handedly shot down a huge fighter plane all by himself.

As soon as they made sure Tsunayoushi is upstairs Skull stops his story and begins to sob. He continues this way for a while, Fong and Luce the only one's standing up to give him a handkerchief.

"Lies! Lies! All lies!" His eyes turned red and puffy. "We're losing this war! We're all going to die! My squad is all dead! Only two left, how the hell do they expect me to fight all of their planes with only three soldiers! THREE." He wiped his nose and Fong served him some water, Luce served him more food. "I hate this, I'm scared. I don't want to do this anymore."

It was quiet at the table, and as always, they wait for Reborn to speak first. He just rolls some Fettuccine into his fork, and takes a bite.

"Would you rather be in the Capulet's side? At least in this Nation they don't let their people starve. Not yet anyways."

Colonnello begins to pour himself a cup of whiskey, handing some to Reborn. "Suck it up." Is the advice they gave Skull. It was the only thing they could tell him.

Verde adds more Parmesan cheese to his food. "All of us feel the same way, there is nothing we could do about it."

"What if I died?"

"It is what it is." Reborn was already smoking at the dinner table, a habit that both Luce and Fong scolded him for.

Skull stopped crying, no tears left. His soul broken. "I could have been a famous dare devil. I could have been someone famous. I'm famous already, but not this way. I never wanted to be known as the man with the best aim in the sky. I never wanted to be known as the man who could kill you with one shot. 'Shoot 'em up Skull.' What kind of stupid name is that?"

"All of us wanted to be many things." Fong remembered his dreams of becoming a Chinese Opera star, he was so young and foolish. "But , this is reality."

"We're all living lies! Lies! "Skull began to shout." If Tsunayoushi knew we were the ones who killed his parents-"

Luce covers her ears, Reborn and Colonnello attempt to pull Fong off the other man who was already choking Skull.

"Don't ever say that! Don't ever say those words in this house ever again! You devil! Do you have the devil inside you!"

Skull is too brave today and continues to talk. _He must have some kind of death wish_, thought Verde, he was seated at the far end of the table preparing a needle that would leave the Chinese man immobile. When he was angry Fong was a threat to everyone, a man that could kill with his bare hands.

"He'll all hate us if he finds out! Do you think I need another heartache in my life? We should just give the kid up. Give him back to the Capulets. That's where he belongs. With his only brother. He'll be better off." Skull continues to cry like a child. His mucus all over his nose. "So go on and kill me if you want. My life was over the minute the war began. Coming back to a home is the only thing that makes me happy anymore. "

Fong's hands relaxed and let him go. His own face angry and hot. "I don't kill children." Is all that he says. He sits down as Luce pours him a cup of tea. He accepts.

Luce decides that it is time to give the Arcobaleno the letter she received from the Capulets. "Giotto sent me another letter." She puts it in the middle of the table. Everyone grew tense. "He says that he wants his brother back at all costs. That we're all...cradle robbers." She began to cry just a bit, her heartache of having a dead child inside her still grand.

Reborn spoke. "We are not giving Tsunayoushi back. He's ours now. He didn't want him when he was born. He shouldn't want him now. That boy is just greedy." He cleared his throat. "As for how we should handle ourselves from now on, Colonnello , you can't step a foot outside. You're American, the people will grow wary of you and give unwanted attention toward us."

Colonnello nodded. "Shit, I'll be bored as hell."

"There's woods," added Verde. "Surely someone of your brain capacity could find something to do there. Not to mention we're always on missions.

"Fong is fine. He's Chinese, part of the Montague nation, as well as Italy." Reborn pointed to himself, Luce, Verde and Skull. "We're all fine. Tsunayoushi is Japanese, he's safe. Either you stay inside Colonnello or learn Italian. Pretend to be Italian."

"The only thing I know how to say is 'Venti' at starbucks." Skull, who was recovering from his breakdown couldn't help but laugh. Colonnello smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

"Aiya," Fong said, slapping Skull's arm playfully. "He'll be dead the moment he sets foot outside for his stupidity."

"Yeah." Added Skull. "He'll be wearing the Capulet's flag as his boxers."

Just another night for the Arcobalenos.

* * *

"They're fighting." Hibarin states, and points to the floor of the basement.

"They do that sometimes ." Is all Tsunayoushi says.

Hibarin pokes the Italian food and tastes it, it was good. "This food is decent." He sticks his nose up in the air. "And I've seen your Uncle Fong before. But when he was younger. When I was still alive."

Tsunayoushi grew curious. Uncle Fong was young before? He never knew! "Really why?"

"I think he was a distant cousin or something." Hiabrin continued to eat. Talking only when he stopped chewing. "He visited my brother often."

The ghost boy did not talk much after that. That always happened. When Hibarin always talked about the past he wanted to play Hide and Go Seek. And the funny thing was that he always wanted to be 'found'.

* * *

On Tsunayoushi's birthday Hibarin leaves a small jar with paper.

"It would be rude of me not to give you a gift." The small ghost responded. "And as the eldest I have to teach you manners. Here, I will teach you to make paper stars."

The trick was that you had to take a small string of paper and tie it, making it look like a small star. If your jar is full you could make a wish.

"See," Says Hibarin as they already finished thirteen of the paper stars. "For everything you want you have to work hard."

Who knows? Tsunayoushi thought. Maybe he can make enough stars to end the war.

The only ones around his birthday cake were Reborn, Colonello, Verde, Luce and Fong. Skull had left for his battle over the ocean and Lal and Viper were still on a mission. But Tsunayoushi did not mind. Last year no one was there on his birthday. He had to stay hidden in a cupboard because the Capulet's soldiers infiltrated the city.

Hibarin was also there, looking at his cake enviously. "Hurry up!" The self proclaimed vampire shouted. "I want some of that!" He pointed at the almond cake. Tsunayoushi learned that Hibarin did not need food to function, he just liked the taste.

The Arcobaleno gave him all gifts and played party games with him. They all played musical chairs but everyone accused Reborn of cheating. He took up two chairs and pushed everyone off the seats even when the music stopped.

"I won't be defeated." He said.

Uncle Fong gave Tsunayoushi a small bag made of Chinese silk, it was filled with decorations of tigers and flowers. "This is a good bag. It used to be mine when I was a small. Take good care of it." Fong always gave gifts like that, close to the heart. He did not tell the boy there was a small knife in it, just in case of emergencies.

Speaking of emergencies, the gun that was in the vase? It was now near the stairs. And they gave Tsunayoushi the same talk. He knew what to do.

Reborn gave the younger boy a white suit, no child of his would wear those children's clothing for much longer. And that was sad. It came with a vest, a jacket and a pair of shoes. The pants had creases in them, it made Tsunayoushi look like such a short important person. Luce could not help but take millions of pictures. Inside one of his pockets was a small taser, a stun gun. Reborn told him to keep that weapon a secret between the two of them.

Luce was the only one who gave Tsunayoushi something not concealing a weapon. She gave him artistic supplies, watercolour paper with paint sets and colours.

Uncle Colonnello gave him a picture book about kittens, which everyone raised eyebrows at. Hey, it's a kids book , ok? I did my homework in finding him a cool gift. Ok, well, maybe Lal picked it. Who cares?"

At night Tsunayoushi found a small letter in the book all written in messy Hiragana.

_'Don't tell your other Aunts and Uncles but I got you a cat. It plays around at the garden shed, there is food and water for him in the shed, too. Don't forget to feed him. Also, there's a small gun near the cat food. You better hide that. You know what to use it for. '_

Tsunayoushi felt like the most happiest child on earth, he yawned as a far away bomb resounded around the house. He goes to sleep, and if he were awake, he would have heard the worried whispers of his Aunts and Uncles. For Skull does not come back home. Not this time.

* * *

Colonnello returns the next day with a solemn face, they hardly saw this face on the American but it was there.

It was the afternoon and none of the Arcobaleno's were on duty. A rare site. Tsunayoushi was upstairs playing by himself, unbeknownst to the others with Hibarin. He hands them all a tape.

"What's this?" Luce says as she wipes the tears from her eyes, probably for Skull. She examines the tape and turns it around and around. It made her cry some more. "What good would this do?"

Lal emerged from the kitchen with a glass of water and stood in front of the elder woman. "It's closure."

Fong sighs and settles down his newspaper." I think we should hear it. Skull would have wanted us to know his last words."

Viper came into the room with a small record player and hands out her hand. 'Give it to me.' she said wordlessly. Reluctantly Luce closes her eyes, as if to search within herself if she really wanted to hear it, and slowly hands the woman with the cloak the tape.

Reborn was smoking a cigarette with his legs crossed, his fedora in front of him on the table. Verde was near the stairs, the door to his lab in the basement wide open. His frame leaning on the door.

When the tape was on they could only hear static, they could hear Skull preparing for lift-off on his jet fighter plane. They would never hear his voice again; this was now concrete in their mind. As soon as the plane is flying in the air you could hear Skull making small gun noises with his mouth, '_bween! bween! bween_!'. Such sound effects sounded straight out of a video game. Lal couldn't help but smirk as well as Reborn. Colonnello laughed out loud with Fong and Luce. Viper and Verde both shook their head in disbelief and laughed through their nose.

It continued this way for some time, Skull yelling at the top of his lungs, making small outbursts from video games or lines from action movies for every plane he shot down. The Arcobaleno's believed he could make it, they forgot that they were hearing a recording. Suddenly, his screams turned to one of fright, then they turned into a mixture of pain and terror.

The Arcobaleno's heard a big explosion this was probably the part when the bomb hit the side of Skull's plane, this was probably the part when Skull had began to burn alive.

"Turn it off!" Luce cries out. "No more!"

But no one does.

They keep hearing the plane fail, Skull suddenly, at the top of his lungs, screams something that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

"I-I-I I'M HOOOOOOOOOOME!"

And that was it before the tape cut off.

* * *

Revised May 23, 2012

Skull really did _die. _I am only saying this because I don't want people to become confused.

This fic will be updated in June. Along Carousel. Please look forward to it! Mukuro appears next chapter, and Tsunayoushi begins school.

Thank you.


	3. A witch who kidnaps and eats children

Skull had always escaped death so many times, but the day that he finally died, no one could really believe it to be true. All of them expected to see him bleeding by the doorway, having his hand in a victory sign, smiling like a fool. The Arcobaleno could not hold a burial for him, for the only thing that was left of him were his ashes. They stored it in a small violet vial and the next time that Reborn was in Italy, he scattered it on top of a building in Skull's hometown.

Tsunayoushi asked where Uncle Skull was one morning in breakfast.

"He's on a far-away mission." Luce murmured in a way that sounded like she wasn't sure. None of the others on the table tried to help her find the suitable words until Fong came in from the kitchen .He was holding a small tea tray. His gentle, serene smile present, and as soon as he laid the tray on the table, he placed a hand on Luce's shoulder.

"He won't come back for a while." Fong finished for her.

"Oh." Is all the child could say. And at that moment, he knew that he would never see Uncle Skull _ever again_.

* * *

The bath in the house was quite spacious. It had an in-built tub. It was part of the floor and it sunk in all the way to Fong's knee. There was also a little shower head at the side and the tiles were a light blue. On a Sunday, Tsunayoushi and Fong were both taking a bath together, the elder man washing the child's back with a small cloth.

"Xiǎo-Shi," The Chinese man said. "Would you like to go to school? Or would you rather stay at home?"

The child thought about it for a bit, and thinks about Reborn. "I want to go to school." He says quietly.

"Tsunayoushi, look at me."

The child obeys but does not look at his Uncle's face. He only looks at the dragon tattoo on the man's chest, how the ink collided with the man's skin. Tsunayoushi oftentimes imagined the ink coming off his uncle's body, swirling like a small tornado around him. He never had a pet before, and that was the only way he could have had one. If it was imaginary. But not anymore. The child thinks about his kitten Nuts in the backyard and smiles. He played with the kitten in secret all afternoon. It was a sweet thing, it didn't scratch him and it ate off his hand.

"You only want to go to school because of Reborn, don't you?" The child looked at the water embarrassed. "Aiya, you do know that Reborn isn't _always_ right, don't you? If this wasn't wartime…" Fong began. "I would say that you should go to school. But these times…these times you don't know what will happen. I don't want to lose you. What if something bad were to happen to you while at school?"

Tsunayoushi only repeats the same thing; he repeats what Reborn wants to hear. "I want to go to school." The little boy repeats politely.

The Chinese man sighed as he began to lather his hair with shampoo. Fong knows that Reborn has Tsunayoushi wrapped around his finger, so he decides to drop the conversation. Instead he looks out at the window of the bathroom, the moon shone in all its splendor.

"The moon is full tonight."

Tsunayoushi looked at the face of the moon and it reminded him of the porcelain imitation in Hibarin's treasure room. He began to point at it, but then Fong swatted his hand away gently.

"You shouldn't point at the moon or anything really. It's rude. If you point at the moon, your ears will fall off.

Tsunayoushi's eyes grew wide and he patted his ears. He was making sure they wouldn't fall off. He needed those to listen to Reborn's records, he needed those ears to listen to Hibarin blabber about his vampiric evil, and most of all he needed his ears to listen to the bombs from far away. So he can know when to run; when to hide.

"It's true," Fong seems to say with absolute certainty. "But since you're nine, the good luck balanced out the bad thing you just did. So it's now good luck."

Fong is a very suspicious man; he never opened umbrellas in the house, and he always left fresh fruit in everyone's rooms and forbid them to touch it. The fruit would absorb all the 'bad energy' away, he had told them. Right before he went to sleep he closed the closet and made sure it would not open at night, this, and everything more was his personality. He was the one that taught Tsunayoushi to believe in magic and superstition. The magical realism of our world. That was why Tsunayoushi accepted Hibarin's existence so casually, for Uncle Fong told him many stories of ghosts seeking help from the living. He taught Tsunayoushi to treat the dead with respect.

Fong also wore bright red clothing in special occasions and when he went into battle. In the military, they remarked that his clothes were red because of all the blood he shed, a momento to his victims. But actually, Fong wore them because it was his favorite colour, that, and because he believed that it was the luckiest of all the colours. Just as it was the colour of the blood he shed, red would help him be alive for a little bit longer.

He rinsed his hair with the small shower head, his hair looked like black licorice to the small boy. He had always admired his Uncle's hair, and when he used to call him father, Fong would give him permission to comb his hair. Tsunayoushi still remembers the comb and he remembers the long black hair at his fingertips.

"May I have long hair like you, Uncle Fong?"

The elder man turned off the device with a small 'click' and began to imagine the smaller child donning a small little ponytail with a little bow, how it would run up and down as he walked. Fong decided he had fallen in love with that image.

"Of course you may! Do you want to have it in my style? Braided?"

Tsunayoushi nodded and began to pat his brown hair.

"When will it start growing?"

They both finished their shower, put on their bathrobes and began to walk to Fong's room to change. The house was quiet since it was only the two of them. Well, three, if you count Hibarin. He was in Tsunayoushi's room reading the fairy tale books Luce had bought.

"It's growing right now, you just can't see it." The Chinese man spoke as he carried the smaller child in his arms. "You're growing right now, see? That is certain, but I can't actually see the growth until it is very visible…"

And when he said this he frowned, because he knew that Tsunayoushi will never ever have a childhood.

* * *

On a Tuesday, Colonnello, Reborn and Fong were the only ones present in the house. Tsunayoushi held on to his American uncle's hand. He shuddered as he heard the radio broadcast. All of them were in the living room, the radio placed in the middle of a small coffee table. Reborn was staring at thin air with a hand on the side of his face, one finger tapping his temples. Fong sat down calmly, his smile always present. The only one that showed any response was Colonnello, who seemed a bit worried and angry. His eyebrows furrowed and his lips in a flat line.

"_**Citizens, don't panic, the Capulets are stationing themselves in different parts of our nation. This is not a surrender, we repeat, this is not a surrender. This is compromise. Do not act in hostile ways, they are not here to cause any harm."**_

The child's heart was filled with terror.

_The Capulets are here._

Colonnello sighed, and held on to Tsunayoushi's hand tighter.

"We're gonna lose, right?"

Reborn didn't say anything, but finally let his eyes focus on the man in front of him.

"Looks like it. But they still want us to spy on them. I'm certain that they had this all planned, that's why they stationed us here, to keep an eye on them. Especially since the group that are assigned to this area is none other than the Brigadier General and his whole squad."

At this Fong nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Giotto."

"Shit..." Colonnello grabbed on to a few strands of his hair. "We gotta be more careful, what if he sees…"

Fong continues to smile like nothing happened, but he raises a finger to his lips, telling Colonnello silently to speak no more. The blond man stops before he could continue blabbering , and let's go of Tsunayoushi's hand.

"Xiǎo-Shi," Fong called . "Sit here next me, let's have a little chat."

The docile child walks to the other side of the room and does as told.

"You must never leave our sight. Understand? When we go to the market, I want you to promise me you won't even move as much as an inch away from us…I say this because…there might be a person that wants to take you away."

Tsunayoushi's eyes widened, he looked to Colonnello and then to Reborn. He was seeking for reassurance.

Reborn raised an eyebrow. "Fong, you aren't thinking of explaining this to him, are you?" The Italian man began to light up a cigarette, only for it to be cut in half in a millisecond. Fong had his hand raised, and Colonnello began to chuckle a bit. Fong was known as a martial arts master for a reason, he was too quick. In that short second, he applied pressure in the wind to cut the other man's cigarette in half.

"Tsunayoushi, I can't explain everything to you right now," Fong looked deep into the child's eyes. "But I swear to you, that you'll understand someday."

And that day would come very soon, like rain, like thunder.

* * *

The toolshed was a bit more spacious than most, it was right behind the house connected by a small little trail of stones. The forest and the backyard divided in half by a white picket fence. Tsunayoushi played with a piece of string, dangling it in front of his kitten Nuts.

"Damn you Colonnello!" A woman's voice was heard all throughout the backyard. It sounded rough, but it could never be confused for a man's voice. He knew that voice to be of his Auntie Lal. Tsunayoushi was at the backside of the toolshed, but he could just imagine the woman's hands on her hips.

"Why did you give him that stupid cat!" Lal paced back and forth, her face hot and angry.

Colonnello had on civilian clothing, not his regular army suit. He hadn't even donned his bandanna, his blond hair falling a bit over his eyes.

"What's so wrong about giving that kid a cat?" His voice was filled with annoyance.

"Don't you get it Colonnello! Why the hell would you give us something else to look after!" Tsunayoushi began to rip the grass from behind him quietly. "The responsibility of taking care of that animal will fall on us. That child doesn't even know how to take care of himself, much less a pet!"

The blond man took a step forward

"Now that's not true, Lal. That kitten hasn't died yet, right? That kid is doing something right, and anyways, you don't gotta worry about the cat. Me and Tuna are taking care of it, _not you_."

Lal did not waver; she kept her arms folded across her chest. She tapped her foot impatiently.

"I just," Colonnello looked at his combat boots. "I…feel real bad for him." Lal seemed interested, maybe even a little bit bothered as she slowly undid her arms. "He doesn't have any friends, and I…I mean look at all the shit he's going through. This war, he's seen things a nice kid like him should be sheltered of, he has a condition that makes people think he's slow, and the other day, _shit—_" The tall man ruffled the side of his hair in exasperation. "I caught him talking to himself Lal! He was having a full on conversation with, I don't know— an imaginary friend or something. It creeped me the hell out. I tell you, that boy ain't right.…I think—" It was rare to see the American so somber and act like the adult he is."— That he _deserves_ this much. He deserves to have this small amount of happiness in his life when everything else is complete shit."

Lal knows that he Colonnello was being serious, but even so she says, "That cat has fleas, Tsunayoushi could get an infection."

An exasperated sigh.

"Jeez, why do you gotta be so moody sometimes, kora! Ya drive me nuts sometimes!"

"Yeah, well the feelings mutual!"

The sun had slowly begun to set, a small bird began to chirp pleasantly.

"Man," Colonnello started to laugh lightly. "We fight like a married couple already, I haven't even proposed yet!_ Damn_." He joked as Lal tried to hide the reluctant smile on her face. But slowly, it turns somewhat bitter.

"Colonnello, I...you know we can't get married right now…" She doesn't look at the man in front of her but looks to the small shed's front door.

"Then when? When the war'll be over?" The blond man laughed through his nose. "When is that gonna happen? We should get married now." This caught the dark haired women's undivided attention, her eyes widened. "Who knows? This could be our last conversation."

The little boy who was eavesdropping on the adults conversation began to pat his kitten for comfort, because in the back of his mind, that was engraved. That any day could be his last.

Lal's brown eyes flickered darkly, she shook her head as if scolding the American.

"Don't talk like that."

"But it's the truth though." Colonnello placed his hands in his pockets. "You're going to grow old and moldy, you're too smart to be killed. But me…not so much. You were always the smart one, so…here." Out from his pocket emerged his hand holding a small box. When the women took it, she did not want to open it. She just stared at it, letting their fingers linger for a while. She knew it to be an engagement ring

"Where did you get this?" She asks without opening the box and with lack of thrill.

"Sidewalk," The man joked. " Of course the merchants! Shit, it took forever to find a ring, and I'm not even sure if it's gold or whatever. You know how things like this are hard to come by nowadays. I bet you that ring was pawned off by a family needing money, everyone's doing that now."

"I…" There were many things she could say, but ' I will' wasn't one of them. "I can't Colonnello."

The blond man does not frown, nor does he become angry. He smiles, and responds nonchalantly.

"Then why don't you just wear it?" He suggests. "Until the day comes? You can wear it like a necklace or something. I just wanna see you wearing it."

Lal sighs and tugs her necklace off, she decided she would attach the ring to her necklace. Once she opened the box, she huffs.

"What an ugly ring!"

"Yeah? What an ugly owner." The other teased.

Tsuna smiled behind the toolshed while Nuts purred in his lap.

* * *

The living and undead children were both playing in the attic. They filled their day up with fairy-tales, games and lots of deep conversations. Tsunayoushi was the more talkative of the two, and often had many topics he wanted to discuss. Strangely, they landed on the topic of education.

"I used to go to school." Hibarin began to help Tsunayoushi build a small fort of pillows at the corner of his treasure room. Both of them had decided to pretend they were guarding a castle from an evil witch.

"How was it?" The brown haired boy asked as he dragged the biggest pillow across the room. "Did you like it?"

"I was class representative." Hibarin boasted. His chest out and proud. "I was always first in line and the teacher always gave me the assignments to pass out."

Tsunayoushi nodded in awe, those did seem like very important assignments.

"Hopefully, I can get a job like that in class too."

Hibarin stopped setting up the pillows to look up.

"What? You _don't_ go to school."

"Oh, uhm," Tsunayoushi began to fidget around. "I'm going to go to school soon. Uncle Reborn signed me up; I'm going to begin in a week!" He said the last part excitedly, his eyes shining in excitement.

But that was short lived, because a great gust of wind seemed to erupt throughout the whole room, the temperature went below zero, the light bulbs popped out. Tsunayoushi proceeded to fall on the floor and screamed in fright. He shivered as he looked at the ghost boy's eyes. They shone a bright red, the glow of his eyes the only light of the room.

"You _can't _go to school!"

All reason escaped the brown haired boy's mind and scrambled up to his feet, and bolted out of the treasure room. Tsunayoushi didn't know who that Hibarin was, he only knew of the one that was kind and gave him paper stars and was like a bigger brother to him. This Hibarin was a scary ghost, whose eyes looked thirsty and his teeth sharp and menacing.

Reborn was the only Arcobaleno off duty on that Wednesday. He sat in the living room reading the newspaper, listening to the radio's classical musical station. Well, _was_. He stopped as he saw his charge running with such a pale face into the bathroom, he raised his eyes as he saw the boy knock into a vase. The impact caused the vase to drop onto the floor and breaking it into millions of pieces. What was even stranger was that the boy (who would usually begin to stutter out with his apologies) kept on heading into the bathroom, as if he were being _hunted_. Reborn also noticed the way the brown haired boy seemed to struggle closing the door. It seemed as if someone was holding the door back, a hard grip on the other side of the doorknob.

If Reborn's eyes could see the struggle in front of him, he would have seen Hibarin smashing that vase, and he could have seen the ghost boy pulling the door back, frightening the brown haired boy on the other side. Hibarin is angry, that is for certain, and Tsunayoushi is frightened. He's frightened of the ghost boy's behavior. He manages to close the door and runs to the safety of the bathtub, he sets the shower curtain above him and curls up in a ball. His face in his arms and legs. He thinks he is safe, but he hears the shower curtain move, and he knows it's Hibarin. He does not look up.

As soon as Reborn hears the bathroom door close roughly, he gets up and walks quickly to the bathroom door.

"Open this door Tsunayoushi!" When Tsunayoushi heard Reborn calling him by his first name, he knew he was in trouble. "Why did you break the vase? That was your Uncle Verde's."

No answer.

"I will tear this door down if you don't open it this instant." The man's voice was cold and cruel, like the hit man that he is.

"Your uncle is the big bad wolf from the three little pigs." Said Hibarin angrily. A reference to the fairy tale book they read to each other earlier that day. "He wants to blow this house down! Making you go to school!"

Tsunayoushi walks out of the bathtub quickly, and attempts to open to door, but no matter what he does It just won't open. He knew Hibarin had done something to it.

"Hibarin, please open the door. I'm going to be in trouble." The brown haired boy's eyes were big and fearful.

The dark haired ghost only continued to stare. "No."

At this, the small boy began to cry. His sobbing frantic and urgent.

Reborn's eyes widened as he heard noises coming from the bathroom. It sounded like another person was in there.

"Tsunayoushi? Is someone in there?" A dark feeling arose from the pit of the Italian man's stomach.

No answer.

"Who are you talking to?"

The child only cried and shouted. "I didn't do it! Don't hit me Uncle Reborn! He did it!"

As soon as the child made clear that there was someone else in the vicinity, the elder man took two steps back.

"Step aside ,Tsunayoushi."

Reborn broke down the door with a fierce push with his shoulders. Just as soon as he came in, Hibarin disappeared, leaving a brown haired boy with a bite on his arm and tears in his eyes.

"I don't want to be your friend anymore." Hibarin told him as he dissolved into smoke, and then, he disappeared.

* * *

At that same night this conversation happened.

"Do you want to go to school XiaoShi?" Fong was looking at the child over his shoulder. The slender but firm man was barely outside the door while Tsunayoushi was huddled under the covers, as if he were afraid of something. He hoped that Tsunayoushi would say 'no', that he could keep him safe from the outside world a little longer.

"Yes." Tsunayoushi began. "But he doesn't let me."

The Chinese man frowned.

"Who is _he_?" The man asked, now facing the child on the bed.

And then Tsunayoushi raises a trembling finger to nothingness. To thin air, and Fong notices the room temperature drop. It felt like a meat locker, death and ice. In the distance, a mirror breaks, its sound coming from the attic, distant and ominous.

Fong immediately interprets this as a bad omen.

"_He_." The child said finally.

It's quiet for a few seconds until Fong walks wordlessly toward Tsunayoushi and scoops him up in his arms.

"Why not sleep with me tonight?" Fong asked this as a suggestion, so as not to embarrass the other.

"Ok." The brown haired boy sighed, and the man could swear that when he turned to close the door, he had heard angry stomping.

* * *

In the following two days, Fong was called in by the government for a mission that involved assassination and espionage. Colonnello's services were also required, so the two were to travel to the capital. It was a big issue on who was going to be in charge of Tsunayoushi, Luce couldn't because she was on paperwork duty in one of the offices, Verde was in another location conducting experiments, and Viper had to do business of her own. So the only two that could take care of him were Reborn and Lal. Both of them did have work, but none of it collided with the other's time, so both of them had enough time to watch Tsunayoushi while the other was gone.

This was a good thing for the other Arcobalenos because this arrangement meant the child was going to be with the most trustworthy of people, but bad for Tsunayoushi because he knew they were the strictest of all his caretakers

* * *

The Italian man had enough of the gloomy disposition Tsunayoushi had taken in since a few days ago. He moped, as if someone had scolded him, and more often than not, he looked around the room as if he were waiting for something to appear. And another thing, he would not drop the little toy nutcracker out of his grasp for any reason. He took it to bathe (leaving it near the window), to use the bathroom (he placed it in front of the door), to eat and to held it tightly and often spoke to it.

In a way, it looked like he was asking the nutcracker for forgiveness.

"Tsunayoushi, time for bed."

The moment Tsunayoushi heard his Uncle's voice, filled with authority and steel, he did as he was told and obediently walked up the stairs. The nutcracker still in his hands.

That annoyed the Italian man to no end. _So dependent on a mere trinket_. The boy was becoming too attached to it, _only little girls like dolls_, reasoned Reborn.

The moment when Tsunayoushi had begun to tuck in the toy next to him on his bed, Reborn made a move for the doll to take it away. When the adult as so as much touched it, the brown haired boy sprung up from the bed and held on to the nutcracker for dear life. His eyes confused and frightened.

"Give me the doll Tsunayoushi."

The boy shook his head slowly.

Reborn's eyes widened in confusion, for this is the first time the boy had ever declined his wishes. The shock was too much to bare, and the adult knew that if he'd allow this small act of defiance the boy would begin to lose respect for him even more( but in reality, what he really felt was fright, that a mere nutcracker doll could be enough to replace him in the boy's life). So Reborn retracts his hand back and slaps the other child across the face. Hard.

"Don't ever disobey me."

The adult takes the nutcracker roughly and swings it on top of the dresser, causing one of the little shoes to break in two. Both of the pieces fell onto different sides of the room, and Tsunayoushi stares in horror. '_Hibarin needs the nutcracker doll to exist! It's his tombstone…Uncle Reborn did a very bad thing…', _but even if the boy were to voice his thoughts, he knows reasoning with the Italian man is useless. Reborn shuts the door roughly, leaving the young child hurt and distraught.

When Reborn is gone Tsunayoushi begins to cry, there was a sting on his cheek, just as well as his heart. But it was because he wanted his friend back, Hibarin, and also because of the war, and because he felt lonely and miserable and asked himself everyday _'Who am I?' 'Where did I come from? Who were my parents?' 'Why can't anyone tell me the truth? Everyone is just filled with secrets...'_

'_But then again, maybe I'm the same as the adults. Since Hibarin is my secret…'_

As the little boy's tears continued to fall, smoke began to appear out of the nutcracker's mouth. It was a periwinkle that seemed to glitter as it dissipated across the room. _He looks like a prince_, Tsunayoushi thought as Hibarin floated carefully in front of him. The ghost landed slowly on the bed, his cape floating like the night sky with stars.

"Does it hurt?" Is all the specter asked him.

Tsunayoushi didn't say anything, just continued to cry.

"I could go scare him if you want." Hibarin's small fake vampire teeth shown. "I won't even suck him to death, I'll just bite him to death. No mercy."

"I-I'm sorry Hibarin. I didn't want your tombstone to get broken…it's all my fault this happened."

The ghost child went inside the covers and made his way up to Tsunayoushi, and then, laid his head on their shared pillow.

"You could fix it with glue. My tombstone is still usable, I am here aren't I? These types of things can be fixed easily, because they're things." Hibarin turned his eyes to the human boy.

"I'm sorry Hibarin," Both of the children were under the covers lying next to each other. " If I hadn't made Uncle Reborn angry this wouldn't have happened."

"But he struck you." At this Hibarin raises his hand and raises a hand to the other boy's cheek. They just stared at each other for a while and didn't speak. A few bombs were heard in the distance, and the crickets continued to chirp.

The brown haired child speaks first. "Did you know Hibarin, that people can hurt you beyond repair? And they don't even have to hit you, that hurts less. People can break you with words."

Hibarin nods.

"They can also destroy you with the things that they do." The ghost boy faces the ceiling as the two boys hold hands under the blankets.

Tsunayoushi smiled. The other wasn't cross with him any longer, and this made him feel comfortable. It gave him peace of mind, and just as soon as he started to drift off, Hibarin unusually continued to speak.

"When I died my mother was sad all the time." The brown haired boy's eyes widened, for the past was a completely taboo subject between the two. "She cried every day and when I tried to talk to her she couldn't see me. What a dumb herbivore!" Hibarin was staring angrily at the ceiling as he spoke.

"I tried to connect with her in the small ways I could. When I was still alive I moved her trinkets around a lot, something she would become cross with me for, and I was the only one who did so. So I began to move her things in the exact location I used to move them to. All that happened was her crying became louder. I don't get her, what a dumb thing to do."

Reborn's classical radio could be heard in the background.

"My father on the other hand, didn't really seem sad or concerned, but I did notice he read the paper every morning a little longer. You see in breakfast time he used to read it straight to the point, and finished quickly. After my death he took his time, and still after thirty minutes he would still be on the very first page."

Tsunayoushi thought that as strange, because he often saw this happen to his Uncle Fong and Reborn.

"One day, my father told my mother that he wanted to leave the house. I couldn't quite hear them correctly, but they sounded angry. They were in an argument. Father told mother that he had already sold the house, and that in an hour he'll come back from town with suitcases. My mother protested as long as she could until my father told her ' Hibari is never coming back.'"

"Hibari? But your name is Hibarin."

"Hibarin is a nickname." The ghost shut his eyes. "I hated father when he said he sold the house. Our castle."

"Why?"

"Because he wanted to leave me."

Silence.

"After my father left my mother began to act strangely. She went to her knitting storage box and took out yarn from the sweater she was making me before I died. I was thinking to myself, perhaps she is just keeping herself busy, mother always became comforted when she knit...but then she began to knit it in the most peculiar way. She knotted it."

The brown haired boy didn't like the sound of that.

"She wasn't making it into any pattern, it was just a long rope. When she finished it she tied it to the chandelier in her room, and stood on a chair. My father walked into the room as soon as she began to dangle from it."

Tsunayoushi knew what that looked like. Once in Italy, he saw a bunch of people dangling from a tree, he remembers his Uncle Fong covering his eyes.

'_Why are you covering his eyes?" _He remembers some stranger scolding them._ " He should see what happens to people who betray their country.'_

"My father screamed for a long time." Hibarin opened his eyes again. "I do not understand. Why would she do that? She's nothing but a stupid herbivore lacking of discipline. She was weak , and yet…" He blinked. "She was my mother."

"My father left the house shortly after that and I never saw him again. They left me here all alone. My mother's soul didn't even come to meet me..." Hibarin meets the other boy's eyes, the only time he has done this since the conversation started and asks, "Will you leave me like they did Tsunayoushi?"

He then understood why the ghost boy became so angry, he didn't want to lose the only person he had. Tsunayoushi wanted to cry again, because he remembered his Uncle Skull's smile, and he remembered the piggyback rides he would give him around the house.

"I'll always be with you Hibarin, I promise."

The ghost boy takes a hand out from the covers, his pinky finger up.

"Really? Make a pinky swear. Eat a thousand needles if you lie."

Tsunayoushi lifts his own pinky finger and the two children chanted-

"Finger cutting promise! If I tell a lie, I'll drink 1000 needles, and cut my finger."

* * *

Tsunayoushi held on to his Uncle Colonnello's hand in the market place. Out of the two ( Colonnello and Fong) the American had arrived first from their mission. He had on a hat ( and Reborn told him he looked absolutely awful) and a large jacket to cover his features, he was American and had to be careful they wouldn't confuse him for a Capulet.

Colonnello placed a couple of notepads in a small basket. "Why did I gotta open my big mouth and tell Reborn I was bored." He muttered under his breath.

The moment the American had begun to complain Reborn had given him the list Fong had sent of Tsunayoushi's 'back to school' supplies. But then he supposed it was better than staying cooped in inside the house all day, and besides, he had always wanted to explore the town here. He hadn't had a chance since they moved because of his job and his features.

"Uncle Colonnello," The young boy tugged on the other's arm. "Can you accompany me to see the pet shop in front? I'd like to see the turtles…"

The American smiled. "You're bored too? Heh, well why don't you go by yourself? It's right in front of here, nothing's going to happen."

The boy nodded.

" Ok."

When he stepped out from the small store he sees the used-to-be abandoned building, now only to be named the Capulet's station. There were a few in front of the building, standing at attention. Eying the civilians.

Tsunayoushi stared curiously at the Capulet soldiers. While everyone around him called them 'monsters' or 'pigs', the little boy thought about how they all looked the same. Meaning to say, they looked human and not deformed or any other hideous monstrosities. There was a young soldier—which he would come to find out was a Brigadier General – on top of the Capulet's roof. He stood tall with a black suit , looking at the city from his binoculars. For some reason, Tsunayoushi was attracted to him and his mannerisms (his blond hair ,which resembled his own haircut) and even his eyes, which felt somewhat familiar. They felt like an embrace, or when he had the opportunity to eat his favorite cakes.

The male on the roof must have felt a pair of eyes on him and looked beneath him, their eyes met. The moment that he sees the small boy, the young soldier's eyes widen.

"Come here!" He yells from above. Tsunayoushi panics, startled from the sound of the stranger's voice. He made a dash to the pet shop. "Tsunayoushi!" The young man calls after him, but he just runs because he remembers his Auntie's and Uncle's warnings. _Never .Trust .Others. There is someone that might take you away._

Tsunayoushi just runs to the pet shop and hides at the back of the store where all the fish tanks are located at. He thinks that he has lost the other and relaxes, but there at one end of an aisle is the young General. He is taking slow steps to the young boy, as if he were a deer or some kind of precious animal he wished not to scare.

"My name is Giotto." The man said. "Here," Tsunayoushi sees Giotto take out a piece of candy from his pocket, trying to coerce the boy to come closer. "I won't hurt you, Tsunayoushi. I'd never hurt you. Don't you know who I am? Come here, I won't hurt you. I just want to talk to you…"

But the child doesn't even see it strange that the Capulet knows his name, he dashes outside the pet shop to find his Uncle in the stationary store. Tsunayoushi is frightened of the stranger, he is frightened of his soft smile and eager eyes.

As soon as he finds his Uncle, he spills out on what had happened. How some man had begun to follow him, but hot headed as Colonnello was, he couldn't want for the rest of the information the boy had wanted to tell him. Such as how the stranger was a Capulet soldier, or how he had known his name, or his features.

The American interrupts the child by laughing, but it was a very mean laugh. Taunting. "Where is he? He doesn't even know the can of whoopass he's gonna get." The very thought of some sick pervert trying to steal his 'Lil Tuna' away. It was kind of funny, he never knew someone with such a grand death wish.

Even so, the moment he sees the Brigadier General's black suit, Colonnello immediately grabs Tsunayoushi and runs as if he had seen the devil. All the threats in his mind has turned to mush and all he could think of was ' Go back to the house. Go back to the house.' The jacket Colonnello was wearing was taken away with the wind, exposing his features and blond hair. He remembered how Reborn told him to fake his ethnicity, and begins to say random phrases of the only Italian he remembers Lal teaching him.

" Buona Notte! Buona Notte !Buona Notte !Buona Notte !Buona Notte !Buona Notte !Buona Notte !" The blond man says it like a mantra, smiling big and goofy. All the while the child in his arms forgetting the danger and beginning to giggle at his Uncle's antics.

Much to their surprise the townspeople greeted them. Some even waved back at Colonnello with a worried look on their faces.

* * *

The pair arrives at the house safely, and the moment Colonnello steps through the door with Tsunayoushi in his arms, he immediately begins to babble on what had happened to Reborn. "The strange thing about it though, was that some of the people waved back, they weren't even scared!"

Reborn doesn't even look up. He just stares at the gun he was polishing on his black lacquer desk in his study. "The last time I went out to the market place I sat and talked to the Italians there. I told them that you were my mentally retarded distant cousin named Timithy. And because of the trauma you suffered from the war, you're only capable of saying 'Buona Notte' and 'Venti'."

Colonnello broke into fits of laughter in his seat. He held his stomach while he laughed. "They believed you! That I'm some kind of retard?

"I tell the best lies." Reborn boasted.

Tsunayoushi looked back and forth between his Uncles and then at Hibarin. They were holding hands on Reborn's couch, and the ghost boy seemed to say with his eyes ' Courage.'

Tsunayoushi opens his mouth.

"W-who was he? The man that tried to talk to me…he was a Capulet. H-he knew my name..."

His question never receives an answer and instead Reborn tells him-

" Are you excited for next week? It's your first day of school."

And the child gulps down all the words he had wanted to say, like so many times, and so many situations. He was already an adult in such a young age. In the future, the teenage Tsunayoushi would still have the same kind demeanor but as so many people have observed of the men and women who were young children during these years have a certain seriousness about them, that doesn't go away, even when they laugh.

* * *

Actually, I wanted to write this when Hibarin and Tsunayoushi made their promise

指切りげんまん、  
うそ ついたら  
針千本 飲ます  
指切った。

But, I can't really translate it the way I want to so I took some liberties. I know English, Japanese and Spanish because of my heritage. So about this story, I left many hints to future things, past and present! English is my weakest...well, I'm sorry I posted this so late. I've been so busy lately...but I promise next update will be soon! Haha eat a thousand needles if I lie! Carousel will be updated first though, I hope you like this updates as well as my other upcoming projects. Thank you so much for the support, it was a real surprise for this story to be so well received!


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